digital

According to a report from CoinShares' research department, digital asset investment products recorded a net inflow of $1.2 billion this week, marking the fourth consecutive week of positive inflows. Total assets under management (AuM) rose to $155 billion, the highest level since February 1. Among them, Bitcoin led with an inflow of $933 million, bringing the year-to-date total inflow to $4 billion; Ethereum saw inflows of over $190 million for the third consecutive week; XRP returned to net inflow after a week of outflows.Regionally, the United States dominated this week's inflows ($1.1 billion), while Germany, Switzerland, and Canada also recorded positive inflows, indicating a broadening demand. Additionally, blockchain stock ETFs have cumulatively attracted $617 million over the past three weeks, setting a record for weekly inflows, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors in this sector. The market is currently focused on the FOMC meeting on April 28-29, which may create some disturbances in short-term sentiment.

According to multiple users from X, the cryptocurrency exchange Websea, which previously invited Takizawa Laura to the Hong Kong Web3 conference, is currently unable to process withdrawals, and the C2C channel has been closed, suspected of running away. Users reported that the platform initially restricted withdrawals and then directly closed the C2C channel, leading to a panic sell-off in the secondary market, with the price of U dropping to half. There has been no official response yet, and the situation is still developing.

According to Insight Korea, South Korea's digital bank K Bank has established a strategic partnership with blockchain company Ripple to advance the verification of next-generation cross-border remittance technology based on blockchain.Both parties will focus on assessing the optimization potential in remittance speed, cost structure, and transaction transparency through Ripple's global payment network and infrastructure. The current collaboration includes proof of concept based on digital wallets, joint development of cross-border remittance models, and expansion in the digital asset field. The ongoing second phase of testing has simulated the connection between the bank's internal systems and customer accounts, testing on-chain fund transfers aimed at the UAE and Thailand. K Bank is also evaluating the adoption of Ripple's SaaS digital wallet Palisade to enhance compliance and deployment efficiency.

The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, published an essay titled "Gathering Greater Energy through Innovation and Cooperation," in which he pointed out that global investors are accelerating the diversification of asset allocation, reducing reliance on a single market or single asset. With the development of hot themes in the investment market, the types of assets linked to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are continuously increasing, ranging from spot and futures of precious metals; technology companies; semiconductor companies; to digital assets, etc. These different themes or ETFs that combine various leverage characteristics provide investors with efficient and highly transparent investment tool options.

According to Russian crypto media Bits.media, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Nabiullina, stated at a press conference that the core purpose of the digital ruble is to automate the monitoring of national contract expenditures, replacing the existing manual review process.She emphasized that the digital ruble does not differ in transparency from the current cashless ruble, and monitoring individual payments is a "misunderstanding." Nabiullina also promised that the central bank would not force citizens to open digital ruble accounts or to use them, and plans to allow the public to experience it voluntarily starting in September, guiding voluntary adoption through promotional advantages. Previously, the Central Bank of Russia updated the relevant rules for businesses and individuals to open digital ruble accounts.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has signed agreements with European Card Payment Cooperation, Nexo Standards, and Berlin Group to reuse existing open payment standards for digital euro transactions, aiming to reduce the system access costs for banks, merchants, and payment service providers.The relevant standards cover contactless payments, connections between merchants and payment service providers, as well as alias payments based on mobile phone numbers. The European Central Bank stated that this move helps to reduce market adoption costs and promotes a unified digital euro user experience in the euro area. Previously, the European Central Bank analyzed that the digital euro could bring about 4 billion to 6 billion euros in costs to EU banks within 4 years.

India is promoting the application of the digital rupee through about 10 welfare pilot projects, distributing part of the approximately $80 billion in subsidies and food benefits via e-rupee to reduce fund leakage and corruption, and to provide a clearer use case for central bank digital currency.At the same time, the Reserve Bank of India is pushing for a cross-member CBDC interconnection plan to be proposed at the 2026 BRICS summit, aiming to enhance the efficiency of cross-border trade settlements and reduce reliance on the US dollar. Currently, there are about 10 million e-rupee users, with a cumulative transaction amount of approximately $3.6 billion, which is still significantly lower than the UPI system that processes about $300 billion in transactions monthly in India.

The address 0x90e...cBe54 withdrew 444 XAUT, worth approximately 2.08 million dollars, from Bitget 2 hours ago, suspected of re-entering the digital gold sector. This address previously accumulated 777 PAXG at an average price of 3301 dollars, then sold 555 at around 4655 dollars, making a profit of about 751,000 dollars. The remaining 222 PAXG are still held and have an unrealized profit of about 307,000 dollars, with a total profit exceeding 1.06 million dollars from both transactions.

According to BBX data, yesterday the capital actions of mining companies' AI transformation coincided with the innovation of cryptocurrency ETF products, with the following core dynamics:HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ / TSX-V: $HIVE) announced on April 22 the completion of a $115 million private placement of 0% convertible preferred notes (including full exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option), with the notes maturing in 2031 and estimated net proceeds of approximately $109.5 million; the initial conversion price of the notes is about $2.57 per share, representing a premium of approximately 17.5% over the closing price on April 16, while implementing capped call options to hedge against dilution risk. The funds will be used for GPU procurement and data center construction, and the company has also received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange, expecting to upgrade from the TSX Venture Exchange to the TSX main board around April 30.Keel Infrastructure Corp. (NASDAQ: $KEEL) (formerly Bitfarms) announced on April 22 the completion of the sale of its 70 MW Paso Pe mining site in Paraguay, with actual proceeds after delivery adjustments of approximately $13 million (the original agreed price was up to $30 million, with the difference reflecting delivery adjustments). CEO Ben Gagnon stated that this marks the company's complete exit from Latin American assets, and the proceeds will be fully redeployed to North American HPC/AI infrastructure pipelines; following the announcement, the company's stock price rose by about 4%.GSR (privately held) officially launched the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (NASDAQ: $BESO) on Nasdaq on April 22, which is the first multi-asset actively managed cryptocurrency ETF in the U.S. covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, with a management fee of 1.00%, rebalancing weekly based on research-driven signals, and executing on-chain staking for yield on portions of its Ethereum and Solana holdings; the investment advisor is Framework Digital Advisors, and the chief market maker is Jane Street Capital.

According to the official announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand, the Thai SEC is publicly soliciting opinions on adjusting the licensing rules for futures contracts. The core content allows existing digital asset business operators to directly apply for a futures contract business license without the need to establish a new company, while also formally including digital assets in the category of reference targets for futures contracts.

According to Tesla's official financial report, Tesla's total revenue in the first quarter of 2026 reached $22.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16%; GAAP operating profit was $941 million, a year-on-year increase of 136%; non-GAAP net profit was $1.453 billion, a year-on-year increase of 56%; operating cash flow was $3.9 billion, free cash flow was $1.444 billion, and the cash and short-term investments balance at the end of the quarter reached $44.7 billion.In terms of digital assets, the company did not disclose any Bitcoin trading operations, and the book value of digital assets decreased from approximately $1.008 billion at the end of the previous quarter to $786 million, mainly due to fair value adjustments resulting from the decline in Bitcoin prices.

HIVE Digital's wholly-owned subsidiary HIVE Bermuda 2026 Ltd. has completed a private placement of $115 million zero-coupon convertible senior bonds (including an overallotment of $15 million), with the bonds maturing in 2031. The initial conversion price is approximately $2.57 per share, representing a premium of 17.5% over the latest trading price; the company has also completed a cash settlement capped subscription transaction, with a cap price of $4.92 per share, representing a premium of 125%.In addition, HIVE Digital plans to transfer its stock from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange around 2026, subject to meeting listing requirements.

The State Duma of Russia (the lower house of parliament) has passed the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Bill" in the first reading, marking a key step towards the legalization of cryptocurrency assets in the country.According to the bill, the Bank of Russia will become the core regulatory body for the cryptocurrency market, responsible for issuing licenses, approving or prohibiting related transactions, and defining the legality of transactions. The bill proposes to classify cryptocurrencies as "property," but explicitly prohibits their use as a means of payment domestically, with the ruble remaining the only legal tender. However, in the context of Western sanctions, cryptocurrency assets can be used for cross-border trade settlements, including service payments, intellectual property transfers, and other scenarios.In addition, the bill allows Russian residents to legally invest in cryptocurrency assets through licensed institutions, but will implement a tiered investor system, setting testing and annual investment limits for ordinary investors (with a suggested cap of 300,000 rubles). Initially, only high-market-cap mainstream assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum will be allowed for trading, with a whitelist established by the central bank. The bill is expected to be formally passed and come into effect by July 2026 at the latest. However, some lawmakers and banking industry figures have criticized the overly strict regulations, which may affect market activity and even lead to funds remaining in the gray market. At the same time, accompanying legislation is also proposed to introduce criminal penalties, with a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison for illegal cryptocurrency trading.

UK digital bank Revolut plans to seek a valuation of $150 billion to $200 billion in its upcoming IPO, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $75 billion. The company's CEO Nik Storonsky also revealed that Revolut is preparing for a new round of secondary share sales in the second half of 2026, with a valuation potentially exceeding $100 billion.Previously, Nik Storonsky stated that the company's listing would take at least another two years, possibly delaying until 2028, with no IPO plans in the short term. He pointed out that Revolut is currently focusing on expanding in the US market, including applying for a banking license to access the Federal Reserve's payment channels and expand its lending and credit card business. Meanwhile, the company has obtained a full banking license in the UK.

Federal Reserve Chair nominee Waller: (Regarding whether to incorporate digital assets into the financial system) Digital assets are already a part of our financial industry.

According to monitoring by Hyperinsight, in the past 16 hours, the Galaxy Digital associated address (0xcac) has continuously closed ETH short positions, reducing holdings by a total of 905 ETH, approximately worth 2.09 million USD. Currently, there is still a floating profit of 2.6 million USD, with a position size reaching 7.4 million USD.Since March, this address has significantly reduced its positions, continuously selling BTC and ETH spot while simultaneously closing short positions, with a total spot selling volume reaching 11 million USD, completing the liquidation; the size of the short positions has also decreased from 35 million USD to the current 13.8 million USD, during which the funding rate settlement recorded approximately 3.5 million USD in profits.It is reported that this address has received on-chain funds from Galaxy Digital multiple times and has been executing a neutral arbitrage strategy on Hyperliquid for a long time, typically maintaining risk neutrality by selling spot and closing short positions, or buying spot and increasing short positions.

The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), a clearing institution under the Japan Exchange Group, has partnered with Mizuho Bank, Nomura Securities, and Digital Asset to launch a proof-of-concept trial aimed at exploring the use of blockchain technology for collateral management of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs).According to a joint statement released on Monday, the trial will integrate existing systems from multiple institutions through the Canton Network to test the on-chain transfer and management of JGBs. This initiative aims to assess the feasibility of achieving real-time collateral trading while ensuring compliance with relevant financial instruments and trading laws. The trial will also investigate cross-border use cases involving clearinghouses, institutional investors, and other market participants.JSCC stated that this trial is part of a broader initiative under the Financial Services Agency's "Payment Innovation Project." As overseas markets like the United States make progress in testing similar infrastructures, advancing JGBs collateral management has become an "urgent priority." Previously, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in the U.S. launched a pilot to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities, and South Korea is also conducting related tests.

ChainCatcher reported live that HashKey Group Chairman Xiao Feng shared a keynote speech titled "Innovation of Economic Models for Intelligent Agents—The Fusion Revolution of AI Tokens, Blockchain Tokens, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption" at this year's 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that the two major business characteristics of blockchain technology are trustlessness and permissionlessness, but public transparency leads to data exposure, making it difficult for compliant institutions like banks to directly go on-chain. With fully homomorphic encryption chips expected to be launched in the second half of this year, achieving performance of about 1000 transactions per second, privacy computing technology is about to reach commercial thresholds.He proposed that the fusion of AI Tokens, blockchain Tokens, zero-knowledge proofs, and fully homomorphic encryption technology is the ultimate form of the intelligent agent economy. He used hospitals as an example: medical data, after being fully homomorphically encrypted, becomes Tokens, and anyone can call the data for computation through the blockchain in a permissionless manner, but cannot access personal privacy information, thus turning hospitals into "Token factories." Individuals can also put their encrypted health check data on-chain, issuing demands to global insurance companies, which can calculate and provide personalized optimal insurance plans in an encrypted state using their actuarial models, eliminating the need for insurance brokers and intermediaries.He specifically corrected a common misunderstanding: AI Tokens are not the currency unit of the intelligent agent economy, but rather the means of production, encompassing everything from electricity, chip computing power, to large models, algorithms, and applications, depicting the production process of intelligent agents. The currency of the intelligent agent economy must be programmable, divisible, and capable of real-time settlement, because when AI Agents call APIs, they may only need a few cents each time, and the costs of existing banking payment systems cannot support such small payments. Digital currency is the "blood" of the intelligent agent economy, and a brand new financial service system designed for machines rather than humans will definitely emerge in the future.